


Player 2

by kadabralin



Series: If Love is the Answer [2]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-10-01 04:02:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17237045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kadabralin/pseuds/kadabralin
Summary: Bonus Michael stories that take place duringTouchand Under Pressure.Enjoy!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First one takes place during Chp 30 of Touch. It may or may not hint at things to come.

His whole face hurt, but that wasn't important.

He needed to find Jeremy before anyone else did. He needed to find Jeremy before, God forbid, he ended up dead somewhere, alone, with nothing but the Squip for company. It'd been a struggle just getting out of the hospital after Jeremy's mad dash for freedom, and he was mentally kicking himself for not being prepared for a struggle.

Michael was mentally kicking himself for a _lot_ of things. Most importantly, for not realizing something had been wrong with him for the last few weeks. Looking back on it now it was obvious that Jeremy wasn't acting quite right, and after all the stink he'd given him about behaving weirdly, it was just... How could he have missed it? How could he have let it get to this point, _again_? He also should have been smart enough to know he couldn't trick them into drinking the Mountain Dew Red.

So now he was stumbling around in some field, trying to follow the coordinates he'd been sent with a swollen eye, trying not to panic, trying to stay calm, hoping this wasn't same inane trap to pick him off so Jeremy could squipify the whole town or something. (Or, you know, died.)

The things you do for love.

He was so focused on the GPS he almost didn't see Jeremy there, sprawled out on the ground, looking even worse than he'd been in the hospital. Michael was still too far away to tell if he was breathing or not. He quickly shoved his phone in his pocket and ran the rest of the way, Mountain Dew in hand.

_It's not too late, it's not too late, please for the love of God, you asshole, don't be dead._

"Jeremy?"

He didn't move, but he opened his eyes immediately, staring up at him from the ground. He looked unfocused, dazed.

"Hello, Michael."

That definitely wasn't Jeremy.

Michael knelt down beside him, a little uneasily, soda bottle in an iron grip in his fist. When he woke up this morning this was _not_ where he expected to be by the end.

"You know, I'd do the whole eye-for-an-eye thing, but it'd only be Jeremy suffering, so you're lucky." He twisted off the bottle cap, watching Jeremy's eyes flick from him to the sky.

"I admire your self control." Their voice was so neutral it was almost creepy. They sighed. "Could we get this over with?"

"Yeah. Absolutely." He set the bottle of Mountain Dew down carefully, behind him, just in case, and lifted Jeremy's head up a little. This was even worse than the play. This was a million times worse than the play. He should have given him the Mountain Dew in the hospital before he woke up. He should have insisted they get rid of Squip sooner. He should have done a lot of things. Michael grabbed the bottle but hesitated when bringing it to Jeremy's mouth. "Is he... Is he going to..."

"He's dreaming right now." His eyes flicked back to Michael's, still unfocused, but a little pained. "But he'll be fine once I'm gone."

"It better be a good dream," Michael grumbled to himself. He rounded his shoulders, lifted Jeremy's head up a little more, and held to the bottle to his mouth. "Bottom's up." To his immense relief, they actually swallowed some, and Michael pulled the bottle away, set it back down, preparing himself for the worst. Mostly he steeled himself for the screaming. That was the part that really got him, back in high school. It'd been terrifying.

"Try to keep him out of trouble, won't you?" His voice was quiet and he’d closed his eyes. More alarmingly, they’d grabbed his hand, squeezing so hard Michael thought his fingers were going to break. He smiled weakly, squeezing Jeremy’s hand back, despite the death grip.

“I can try, but Jeremy seems to _really_ like trouble.” They laughed in response, just a small, little _hah_ , and then there was nothing, just a quiet stillness. The grip on Michael’s hand went slack, and he wondered if maybe it’d be different this time. Maybe it would be peaceful?

It wasn’t.

For a moment Jeremy simply looked peaceful, like he was asleep, but in a flash, his eyes snapped open, wide, unseeing. He clawed at his scalp with his free hand, and Michael clung for dear life to his other one, tucking Jeremy firmly against his chest and trying desperately to ignore the agonized noise Jeremy was making. He’d forgiven the Squip for last time; he was never going to forgive it again. Michael felt Jeremy go limp first, and then eerie silence followed, only Jeremy’s haggard breathing indicating that it was over.

He never wanted to hear Jeremy make that sound again.

“Okay…” Michael breathing slowly, rubbing his face, fingers bumping into his glasses. He took them off and put them on the ground. They were broken and cracked now, anyway, no point in keeping them on. “Okay, Jeremy. Hospital. We need to get back to the hospital.”

Talking to himself out loud was the only thing keeping him sane at this point. 

If this was anything like before, and Michael was 99% certain it was, Jeremy would be down for the count for a while. He’d have to drag his ass all the way to the hospital himself. Shit, that was going to take forever. He dug his phone out of his pocket and almost dialed Mr. Heere. Michael went over a brief script in his head.

_Hey Mr. Heere, I found Jeremy. He’s not dead. I can’t bring him back myself but I can tell you where we are. Everything is fine. Peace._

Yeah. Yeah, fine. Good. Perfect. Concise. 

Michael was about to tap the number but froze when he suddenly felt an unfamiliar hand on his shoulder.

It was _his_ turn to make an ungodly shrieking noise.

"Hey, hey, stop yelling! I'm here to help." He knew that voice. It was Alex. _Fuck._ Of all the people on the entire damn planet to find them right now, it had to be _this guy_. Michael didn't know who he disliked more at this point: Alex or the Squip. It was a close tie. He hunched over Jeremy a little more, gripping him close.

"What do you want?"

"I just told you. I'm helping." Michael made a disbelieving, disgruntled noise. _Helping_. What a joke.

"Fuck you, every time you 'help', things get worse."

Alex scratched the back of his head.

"Don't be a hero, Michael. It'll be faster if I carry him. You can't even _see_."

Well. He wasn't wrong about that point. His eye was swollen and blurry, his glasses were fucked up beyond repair, and it was getting dark. Michael weighed his options, along with a good dose of screaming in frustration in his head. _Fuck._

"Just-- _Fine._ Okay, fine. But if I even _think_ you're pulling something I'm going to kick your ass." Michael had never kicked someone's ass in his life, but he'd gladly start with Alex. Alex, meanwhile, seemed completely unphased by the threat, and scooped Jeremy up like he weighed nothing. Oh, right, he was supposed to be a cyborg or something? He scrambled to his feet, agitated and stressed and itchy all over. He was probably breaking out in stress hives, just to top off the shit cake. 

Alex walked fast, and Michael struggled to keep up. He could hear Alex talking, but it wasn't to him. He was talking to Jeremy. He _definitely_ didn't like that.

"What are you saying to him?" Jeremy was unconscious so it shouldn't matter anyway, but Alex was such a wild card he could be whispering some kind of crazy squip codes in his ear, or, you know, something. Whatever he was saying, he'd prefer Alex to just shut up.

"Grief is the price we pay for love." Alex wasn't talking to Jeremy anymore. He was talking to him. Alex was looking at him, thoughtfully. "Sounds about right, doesn't it?"

Michael was so taken aback he didn't know how to respond. What a weird fucking thing to say.

"I... yeah?" 

Alex was smiling. Or at least, Michael thought he was smiling. It was almost impossible to see.

"Glad we're on the same page."

"What page is that?"

"The one where we suffer for the people we care about."

"Who do _you_ care about?" Michael doubted Alex could possibly care about anyone. If he was a squip, like he claimed to be, that definitely couldn't be possible. 

"You don't need to believe me, but I care about Jeremy. I tried not to, but it was hard, so I gave up." 

The hell was that supposed to mean?

"Yeah, and why is that? You barely know him." This was getting a little creepy. How long had Alex been stalking them? Alex was shrugging a little.

"My host cares for him, so I do, too. A little annoying, but..." He paused. "That's just how it goes."

Michael almost stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the blurry figure that was Alex in the dark, eyes narrowed, trying to parse what that even meant.

"Who's your 'host'?" He said the word with air quotes, hoping to get across that he thought Alex was full of shit.

"That's classified. If you knew, I'd have to kill you." Was he joking? Michael honestly couldn't tell, so he dropped it. They walked the rest of the way in blissful silence. Outside the doors to the emergency room, Alex stopped moving.

"Well, time for me to go." Suddenly Alex was handing Jeremy over to him, and he scrambled to keep from dropping him. "See ya."

"That's it?" Michael's arms were already straining to keep from dropping Jeremy's dead weight, but Alex's sudden departure left him a little stunned. He didn't really know why.

"Yep." He was getting blurrier and blurrier as he walked away, back turned, hands in his pockets. "Nice getting to know you."

"Huh." Michael readjusted Jeremy in his arms and shuffled over to the Emergency Room doors. 

Definitely one of the weirdest days of his life.


	2. Words With Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael and the Squip text sometimes.

The first time Michael was contacted by the Squip, he blocked them immediately.

It might have been petty of him, but... He wasn't quite ready to make that step. It wasn't just because he disliked the Squip, or perhaps even hated it. It just felt _weird_. Inappropriate, maybe. The thing lived in Jeremy's head and, highly likely, knew things Jeremy didn't want to share. Private things, nothing necessarily life-threatening or friendship ruining, but embarrassing. It seemed wrong to be able to have private conversations with something like that.

Granted, it was Jeremy's idea, and he'd practically begged him to do it.

Maybe he was overthinking it.

Michael had figured since the Squip was a supercomputer and all, it could easily get around getting blocked on a basic cell phone, but it didn't attempt to reach out to him again. A show of good faith, or just an admission that it didn't want to talk to him, either? Whatever the case was, he had no intention of reaching out to the Squip himself unless he absolutely had to, and hoped Jeremy would forget about the whole thing.

Then came a day Michael was so bored during a lecture talking to the Squip actually sounded like a good idea. He was dying for _anything_ that wasn't what could probably be the driest, least enthusiastic professor on the planet giving an equally dry and unenthusiastic speech about plant cells. He didn't think he'd ever been so mind-numbingly bored in his life. Jeremy wasn't responding to his texts, Kevin wasn't responding to his texts, there was nothing interesting posted online, and the world was not on fire for once.

In a moment of complete desperation, Michael decided he'd attempt to extend an olive branch to the Squip, if only because Jeremy would be happy about it. And then maybe he wouldn't have to suffer for another 50 minutes. He unblocked the Squip and shot it a quick text.

> M: hey do you u play words w friends

Michael quickly shut off the screen and put the phone down, vaguely nervous, fidgeting with the pen in his hand. He wondered what it'd say? His phone buzzed and he cautiously picked up the phone to reveal it's answer.

> S: No.

Oh. Well. Michael didn't know why he found that so fucking funny. What else had he really been expecting?

> M: play it with me.
> 
> S: No.

So much for that olive branch. Michael wasn't deterred, though. He really was that bored.

> M: come on, it'll be fun
> 
> S: I have no interest in fun.
> 
> M: according to Jeremy that isn't really true
> 
> S: No.
> 
> M: please?
> 
> S: No.

Wow, this thing really was no fun. Why exactly was Jeremy so attached to it? Wouldn't a computer jump at the chance to show off how smart it was or something? Michael certainly thought so. There were also still 45 minutes of nightmare lecture to go.

> M: afraid you'll lose?
> 
> S: You're very obnoxious.
> 
> M: bwak bwak
> 
> S: What is that supposed to mean?
> 
> M: i'm calling you chicken
> 
> S: You should have said that to begin with. The answer is still no.

Michael frowned down at the phone and drummed his fingers against the desk. A different approach, maybe?

> M: jeremy wanted us to socialize. this would be a good way to break the ice. he'd totally like that.

The Squip took so long to respond that Michael almost gave up.

> S: I'll consider it.

Holy shit, had that actually worked? That certainly told him a lot.

> M: now?
> 
> S: What part of "I'll consider it" means "now" to you?
> 
> M: cmon please i'm so bored i'm dying
> 
> S: I'm sorry to inform both you and Jeremy that boredom can't kill you. You'll just have to suffer.
> 
> M: wow, harsh
> 
> S: Shouldn't you be paying attention to your class?
> 
> M: it's awful, i can just read my textbook and it'd be good enough
> 
> S: Your parents didn't teach you how to entertain yourself?
> 
> M: i could entertain myself but it wouldn't be class appropriate
> 
> S: You're just as bad as Jeremy, no wonder you're friends.
> 
> M: i'm taking that as a compliment
> 
> S: If I play Words With Friends with you, can we stop this terrible conversation?
> 
> M: hell yeah
> 
> S: Very well.

Michael still had some hangups about it, because the Squip could definitely hack his phone or something, but it was worth a shot. Maybe it was possible to become friends with a supercomputer-hellbent-on-destruction after all.

* * *

> M: hey, what’s 10 / 0
> 
> S: Michael, you know very well what the answer is.
> 
> M: no I don’t
> 
> S: I’ll keep it simple for you, then. You can’t divide by 0. No, you can’t cause my quantum processor to crash with ridiculous math questions. No, I will not do your math homework. No, you aren’t funny. Do you have any other questions?
> 
> M: no.
> 
> S: Good.

* * *

> M: hey
> 
> M: hey, take your turn already I’ve been waiting five days
> 
> M: this isn’t cool, man, don’t ignore me just because i managed to outsmart you
> 
> M: HEY
> 
> S: I’m busy.
> 
> M: with WHAT

It never responded to that one. It also took another two days to make its move on their game. Michael was perturbed, to say the least.

* * *

> M: how does a computer get drunk? it takes screenshots.
> 
> S: lol
> 
> M: wait you actually liked that joke?
> 
> S: No, but that was the response you wanted, wasn’t it?
> 
> M: i have more where that came from
> 
> M: what do you call 8 hobbits? a hobbyte
> 
> M: what does a baby computer call his father? data
> 
> M: i would tell you a UDP joke but you might not get it
> 
> S: Please stop.

* * *

> S: You forgot your report in the dorm.
> 
> M: no way I have it in my bag
> 
> S: I assure you, you don’t.
> 
> M: wtf
> 
> M: thanks I guess?
> 
> S: If you would organize your side of the room a little more, you wouldn’t keep forgetting things.
> 
> M: who asked you?

* * *

> S: Jeremy isn’t feeling well. I have attached a list of things I need you to bring to the dorm.
> 
> M: holy shit
> 
> M: is he dying or somthing???
> 
> S: Everything on the list is mandatory.
> 
> M: i don’t even know what diphenhydramine is
> 
> S: It’s Benadryl. I’m sure you’ve heard of that.
> 
> M: why do we need 20 cans of chicken noodle soup
> 
> S: You can switch up the flavors, but Jeremy likes chicken noodle the best.
> 
> M: it’s not the flavors i’m concerned about
> 
> S: It’s important to be prepared.
> 
> M: there’s prepared and then there’s paranoid
> 
> S: Humans are fragile. You never know when you might need emergency first aid.
> 
> M: i’m only buying 10 cans
> 
> S: 15.
> 
> M: 12
> 
> S: Fine.
> 
> M: i’ll have it all there later
> 
> S: Don’t take too long, please.
> 
> M: jeremy’s been sick a million times, i think he’ll be fine
> 
> S: That isn’t the point.
> 
> M: are you worried?
> 
> M: hello?
> 
> M: how sick are we talking, here
> 
> S: Yes, I’m concerned for his well-being.
> 
> M: i’ll try to leave early
> 
> S: Thank you.

* * *

> M: i still can’t believe you killed Eminem
> 
> S: We aren’t having this conversation again.
> 
> M: i need to know
> 
> S: Know what?
> 
> M: what other celebrities are on your shitlist
> 
> S: I don’t have a shitlist.
> 
> M: there has to be someone
> 
> S: I predicted a high probability of Eminem getting impaled with a hockey stick and used it to Jeremy’s advantage. That’s it.
> 
> M: i don’t believe you
> 
> S: I don’t need you to believe me.
> 
> M: come on please i need to know that the guy who voices yoshi is going to make it
> 
> S: Why do you care?
> 
> M: he’s one of my heroes
> 
> S: Interesting choice.
> 
> M: anyone who makes weird squealing and grunting noises for a living deserves my immense respect
> 
> S: I don’t understand you at all.
> 
> M: i don’t need you to understand i just need you to tell me
> 
> S: He’s going to die tomorrow. I’m sorry.
> 
> M: HAT
> 
> M: WHAT
> 
> M: are you fucking with me?
> 
> M: come on holy shit don’t just stop responding
> 
> M: i’m going to call jeremy and tell him what you said what the fuck
> 
> S: Yes. I’m fucking with you. Can we move on now?
> 
> M: you’re a dick i almost had a heart attack
> 
> S: You’re welcome.

* * *

> M: hey.
> 
> M: i don’t really get what you and jeremy are doing
> 
> M: but i want you to know that if anything happens to him i’m going to personally make it my life goal to mountain dew your ass.
> 
> M: he thinks you care about him
> 
> S: I do care about him.
> 
> M: you say that, but your track record isn’t great
> 
> S: I’m aware of that.
> 
> M: i’m keeping my eye on you
> 
> S: I understand.
> 
> M: he looks like shit
> 
> S: I know.
> 
> M: might want to correct that
> 
> S: I will.
> 
> M: you better
> 
> S: Is that all?
> 
> M: for now
> 
> S: Goodnight, then, Michael.
> 
> M: yeah. Goodnight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during Chp 12 of Under Pressure.

It was so early that Michael thought, maybe, he'd get more sleep in the car, but by the time they actually left, he knew that wasn't going to happen. It might have been 5:30 in the morning and he had barely slept at all, but he felt wide awake now, and looming ahead of him was an 18-hour drive, alone, with _Alex._ He didn't necessarily dislike Alex, he'd spent plenty of time with him without Christine or Jeremy around, but being stuck in an enclosed space for a whole day, by themselves, made him nervous. Michael was mostly concerned that it would end up being uncomfortably awkward the entire time, and there'd be nothing to talk about, or Alex would ask him to slug him while driving.

Maybe he was a worrywart.

"If you need me to make a stop just let me know." Alex grinned at him and Michael fiddled with the phone in his hands. Too bad Pokemon Go didn't really work while driving so fast.

"Will do."

Alex turned on the radio, keeping the volume low, and for a while, Michael just stared out the car window in silence as the sun slowly rose, pink and red and fading into blue. This wasn't so bad. Jeremy would probably be up anytime now and let him know what the hell Linda was planning on doing with them. He kept checking the screen, even though it hadn't beeped or vibrated or done much of anything for a good while, but, you know... he was nervous, and he had every reason to be, frankly. Two battles over your best friend's life with a supercomputer and eventual kidnapping by a weird guy and your best friend's mother kind of makes you paranoid. Surprises were never a good thing at this point.

"Candy bar?"

Michael looked over when he felt something prodding his arm. Alex was jabbing the spikey end of a wrapped Snickers bar at him, smiling. 

"No, I'm good, thanks." 

Alex shrugged. "Suit yourself."

They weren't even in Georgia yet and Michael was already getting antsy. There was still nothing from Jeremy, and he was holding back from texting him a million and one times. He could see Alex glancing at him after a while. Maybe he should try to be more subtle about checking his phone.

"He's gonna be fine, you know."

"Am I that obvious?"

"You've checked your phone forty-nine times since we left, so I'd say yes."

"You were actually counting?"

"I count everything. It's a squip thing."

"Uh... huh." Michael had a hard time figuring out when Alex was being serious or joking. But his phone battery was already pretty drained, so he figured forty-nine times had to be about right. After a couple minutes of weird silence and him checking his phone _again_ , Alex leaned back in the driver seat and sighed.

"Look, it's nothing _weird_ ," Alex was looking at him again and Michael pressed his lips together in response, "but if I tell you what it is, will that make you feel better?"

Michael sat up straighter. "Uh, yeah."

"You gotta promise you won't immediately blab to Jeremy right away. I mean, he probably knows by now, but still."

"Scout's honor."

"You were never a Scout."

"Not the point, dude." 

Alex grinned. "Okay, okay. Fine." He paused, probably for some kind of dramatic effect, and Michael stared at him expectantly. "Linda rented them a place down by the beach. One of those Airbnb things, I think." He waved a hand in the air. "That's it, that's all it is."

"Oh." Okay. Okay, that was fine, completely fine, nothing worth worrying over, then. Michael was relieved and then felt kind of stupid for being so worried. He dropped his shoulders a little. "Cool. For how long?"

"Uh. Indefinitely?"

"You can do that?" Welp. Michael was never going to see Jeremy again, probably. 

"Apparently." Michael wished Alex would stop looking at him and watch the damn road, but then he reached over and gently patted Michael's knee. He frowned slightly but didn't pull away. "Feel better?"

"...Yeah, thanks."

With that worry out of the way and no longer occupying his thoughts, Michael now had to sit here and grapple with the real reason he'd been a little anxious about the drive home. It was the incredibly uncomfortable and frustrating fact that not only did he not _dislike_ Alex, but actually, actively _did_ like him. He couldn't pinpoint when, exactly, it'd started happening, or when his opinion began to shift, and he wasn't sure how to feel about it. Michael certainly had a track record with forming crushes on all the wrong people--Jeremy, of course, being the worst and prolonged out of all of them, and he finally had to make a conscious effort to get over it when he began dating Christine officially--but this one had to be especially fucked up. Alex had spent a lot of time fucking with both him _and_ Jeremy, even if it was supposedly for a good reason (he still had his doubts), and frequently made an ass of himself, and really, did he have any redeeming characteristics at all?

But sometimes, when sitting next to him, Michael would suddenly be hit with the overwhelming desire to kiss Alex's stupid mouth, to shut him up, and maybe do something _else_ , and he had to push the thought down and mentally kick himself. He really didn't want to think of it, or acknowledge it, or even give Alex the satisfaction of knowing Michael was kind of into him. Honestly, it almost seemed like they were in some kind of unspoken competition, waiting to see who would make the first real move, and he'd already decided it wasn't going to be _him_ , so help him. To admit he liked Alex was too _weird_ , inappropriate, and probably (definitely) dangerous. 

Plus, there was Silas now, and one squip in Michael's (and Jeremy's) life was plenty, anyway.

Maybe it was some weird form of Stockholm syndrome? Michael simply had to endure another sixteen hours of Alex's presence, and then he'd be home, and Alex would leave, and he could move on with life and get over it. It wasn't even worth bringing to Jeremy. He would, hopefully, never have to see Alex again and he wouldn't have to think about him or deal with his insistent closeness, or how distractingly long his lashes were, or how much Michael wanted to kiss that mouth-

_Augh._

Yeah. This was what he'd been afraid of. But it was only physical attraction, easy enough to get over.

Michael was busy glaring out the car window, fist pressed against his mouth, and he could hear some commercial for shotguns play on the radio for what seemed like the millionth time. _Bang, bang, bang, get your guns here, stop by right off Thunderson and-_

They'd also passed some billboards along the highway, giant signs with Jesus and for some reason, there were zombies involved, which was hilarious but also not. God, he couldn't wait to be out of the south. 

"Hey, pick something to listen to." Alex had one hand on the steering wheel, the other thumbing through his phone. Michael glanced at him.

"Anything?"

"Yeah, anything. Whatever you want, I'm down."

"Aquabats?"

"You got it."

Michael smiled, bobbing his head a little to the familiar music, which was a significant improvement over the generic pop music mixed with drug and ammunition advertisements. 

"Hey, you ever watch the show?" Alex's sudden question surprised him.

"The Super Show? Yeah, I've seen all of it."

"You know they're making more?"

"Wait, what?" Michael picked up his phone and immediately turned to Google. "No way."

" _Yeah_ way, dude. They had a Kickstarter and everything, and they're working on two albums..."

How had he not heard about this before? Jesus. He must be really out of the loop.

"Why do you know that?"

"Because I like their music."

"Seriously?" Not that that was especially unbelievable, they weren't exactly some obscure band, but Michael was still skeptical.

"Yeah, I like all those Ska bands. You know, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, all those popular ones."

Michael cracked a grin. "How do you feel about Gwen Stefani?"

"It's not No Doubt, but I have a soft spot for _Hollaback Girl._ "

"You should have sung that during karaoke."

Alex grinned back, then winked. "Next time."

Michael snorted a little. 

Maybe this drive wasn't going to be such a pain after all.

* * *

Halfway through the drive they stopped in Charlotte, North Carolina so Michael could stretch his legs and eat a meal. He was a well-seasoned video gamer, he was no stranger to sitting for long periods of time, but something about being in a car sitting for 9 hours really made your ass sore and legs stiff. 

It was still pretty early in the day, only 3 in the afternoon, so it wasn’t as if they were hurting for time. Alex _insisted_ they had to get ribs while they were here, and Michael wasn’t picky, so whatever. He couldn’t bring himself to sit so he stood there at the table, a plate of food in front of him, frowning down at his phone because Jeremy _still_ hadn’t contacted him. He knew what the whole “surprise” thing was now, and that was fine, but the lack of communication bothered him. Michael was trying hard not to feel bitter and sorry for himself, because of course Jeremy would immediately forget their promise and never bother to tell him what was going on, but that wasn’t exactly fair. Jeremy probably had a lot going on, too, he couldn’t be upset about it, this wasn’t high school, they were both on the same page.

But the nagging worry that he'd be left behind, and that Jeremy would pick Silas and a cooler life over him, was always there, no matter how many times he tried to snuff it out.

“Something wrong with your food?” Alex was looking at him, with a hint of concern, and Michael kind of shrugged, pocketing his phone.

“No, sorry, I’m just distracted,” he forced himself to sit, even though he didn’t want to. Alex shoved a spoonful of baked beans into his mouth. He idly tapped his spoon against the plastic serving dish.

“Hey, you ever been to Stone Mountain?”

“Didn’t we pass that back in Georgia?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“No.”

“They have a cool laser show at night, you’d like it. And there's this place called Dinotopia? It's _technically_ for little kids, but who cares, we should go.”

Michael paused with a rib halfway to his mouth, eyebrows raised. “Now?”

“Nah, it’s too late now, obviously, but next time.”

“Is there going to be a next time?”

“What, not interested in visiting me?” Alex feigned disappointment, pouting, elbows on the table, barbecue sauce on his face, and Michael rolled his eyes, trying, and failing, to smother a smile.

“I’ll have to confer with Jeremy on that one.” If Jeremy would ever text him, anyway. Maybe he should call... 

No. Nope. He couldn't worry about it anymore. Jeremy would text him eventually.

* * *

It was super late. Like, three in the morning late, but Michael had no desire to go to bed.

He'd slept a while in the car during the last leg of the drive, but there was _also_ a bunch of crap on his bed that needed to be put away (right, he'd forgotten they'd never finished unpacking when Alex and Linda showed up) and he didn't want to deal with it yet. Alex had dropped him off, and he'd puttered around the apartment for a while, sort of shoving boxes out of the way and throwing out anything in the kitchen that looked nasty. It was... weird. Weird to be in this apartment, alone, after the biggest plot twist of his life, and it was only him.

Michael, truthfully, had never enjoyed being alone. He'd always had Jeremy around or his family, and while he was never exactly the social butterfly type, and even felt uncomfortable surrounded by hoards of strangers, it was still sort of comforting. Now it was him in a silent apartment with a bunch of boxes for company. He considered trying to load up a video game and playing until he passed out on the couch, but he decided the best course of action was to sit on the balcony, smoke, and listen to music until sunrise.

He had just started to relax, but suddenly Alex was _there_ , plopping himself down beside him on the ground, and Michael nearly had a coronary. He quickly yanked off his headphones and dropped them around his shoulders.

"You're still here?"

"Yeah, I drove nonstop for almost a whole day. I needed a nap. You thought I left?"

Michael glanced away, joint to his lips. "Kind of."

"Leaving without saying goodbye? That's rude. I'd never." Alex grinned at him and leaned on his hands. Michael didn't respond, merely looked down at the joint between his fingers, then held it out to Alex. He took it, which surprised Michael, he didn't really know why, and took a long drag.

"So... Squip people get high?"

"Yep." He licked his lips. "If I want to, anyway. If it's not fun anymore I can just shut off the effect and filter it out normally."

"That's pretty convenient."

"Right?"

"Is there anything you _can't_ do?"

Alex passed the joint back to Michael and tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Can't fly."

"So, you mean you can't form wings out of your back like a transformer?"

"Nah. That would be _way_ too complicated. And heavy. Birds can fly because their bones are hollow, see, and then there’s the airfoil issue..."

"Makes sense I guess," Michael mumbled, fiddling with the joint in his hand while Alex went on some shpeel about flightless birds. This was hella weird, talking to Alex like this, with Jeremy a million miles away. Nevermind that they'd chatted the entire drive back to New Jersey...

Michael was on his home turf now, so it felt different.

“Yo, Michael.” Alex was looking at him now, and Michael looked at him just in time for Alex to blow smoke directly into his face. Wow. Dick move. He scrunched up his face and curled his mouth into a frown. “Wanna try something?”

Michael glanced at Alex's mouth, the corners tugging up mischievously. “If you’re going to suggest shotgunning, then no.”

Alex paused, frowned slightly, then sat back. “Shucks, you saw through my master plan.”

“What kind of plan was that?” Michael snorted.

“My plan to get you to kiss me.” 

Ah, fuck.

Michael made a noise, completely involuntary and surprised, and Alex was _grinning_ at him. Silly him, thinking they’d get through this excursion without incident. 

“That’s uh, wow.”

“But you clearly don't want to, so.” Alex shrugged, turning away from him, but his tone was insincere and teasing as if he were baiting him, and Michael sat there dumbly and stared. “What?”

“Could I have the joint back?”

“Sure.”

Michael fished it away from him and took a long drag, then blew the smoke out slowly, watching it swirl and dissipate in front of him.

“I’m not high enough for this.”

“What’s that mean?” Alex leaned back, amused. Michael licked his lips.

“You’re not going to ask me to hit you again, are you?”

“Nope, not today.”

“Cool.” Michael sucked his teeth, putting the joint out against the balcony floor. 

“You never answered my question.”

“Which one?”

“The one where I asked you what you meant.”

Well, it was now or never, and Alex was right there, waiting for an answer. This was probably the stupidest idea of all stupid ideas, but you know, he was in college, and Jeremy was away dicking the supercomputer that almost killed him twice, and Alex was hot. There were worse things he could decide to do while high, like bleach his hair, or eat an entire bag of sugar-free gummi bears, or get a blowjob from a total stranger behind the BJ’s Wholesale.

Michael didn’t really know if he completely trusted Alex at all, but hey, at least he wasn’t a stranger.

He didn't say anything, but he moved into Alex's lap, straddling his hips with his knees, and stared at him, who just stared back.

"That's the spirit." Alex leaned against the wall. "You don't have to look so serious about it, though."

Michael pressed his lips together, staring him down, then gave up, there was no point in trying to prolong his bad life choices. He grabbed Alex by the shoulders and kissed him, clumsy because Michael was sort of in a weird hunching position, but it was fine. It didn't matter, honestly, because Alex's mouth was just as soft as he thought it would be, and his hands were warm against his back. He'd originally intended this to be quick, but Alex was smiling against his mouth and it was so stupid, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. He adjusted himself a little so it wasn't such an awkward position, and Alex's hands glided up his back, and fuck, it was nice. Michael hadn't been touched like this since his breakup with Kevin and he felt starved for it.

Alex's touch felt careful and deliberate, probably so he wouldn't scare him away, Michael could only assume. It was all very slow, and tingly, and Alex teasingly sucked on his lower, which made him groan. He even allowed himself to press down against Alex's lap, as close as he could get, until their mouths finally broke apart and Michael peeled himself away. It was a major pain; if he weren't so sensible he probably would have allowed himself to stay like that for a while, drinking in the intimacy and touch, but he had to stop himself somewhere. 

“I guess my master plan worked after all.” Alex watched him, half-lidded, a satisfied curve to his mouth.

“Don’t expect a repeat.” He had enough self-control to know he wouldn’t, couldn’t, kiss Alex again. Once was enough, he’d gotten it out of his system now, and he could move on and get over it.

“What’s with the face. Was it that bad?”

“I think you’ve overstayed your welcome.”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” Alex stood up, slowly, watching Michael the entire time and for whatever reason he suddenly felt exposed, like Alex could see right through him. “See ya around, Michael. Thanks for the hit.” 

Michael watched him saunter out of the apartment and finally disappear. And secretly, deep down, he kind of hoped he'd get a chance to do it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day ;)


	4. They Fuck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the Halloween chapter of Under Pressure.

Michael didn't really know how this happened.

The whole party situation had gone better than expected. He'd been really worried Alex was going to bring up the whole makeout thing from a few months ago, but he hadn't.

_“So, like, are you…?”_

_“We aren’t a thing. You can’t actually think otherwise.”_

He felt like a big, fat hypocrite. Hadn't he, on many, _many_ occasions, criticized Jeremy for lying and keeping secrets like this? Now he was doing it. Sure, Alex and he hadn't actually talked about it, and they weren't actually dating, but it felt like a thing he definitely should have brought up. A couple of months after the fact felt too late and now he had to die with the secret. It bubbled and curled in his stomach like gasoline fumes, giving him heartburn, reminding him of his mistakes. 

The lingering wisps of guilt vanished as soon as he found out they actually _were_ in danger, serious danger, gonna-get-murdered-by-a-crazy-supercomputer danger, and Jeremy had known the _whole time_. Everyone knew, except him, except Michael, always out of the loop, always the last one to tell, until it was too late.

Then he was expected to clean up the mess.

He was sure Christine didn't know, either. He contemplated texting her about it the rest of the night, but he had no idea how to even bring it up. How would he react to being told that, actually, their involvement with this squip shit put a giant target on their back, over the phone, in the middle of the night?

Not well.

It was probably better to tell her in person, over the holidays, when she'd be home.

If they actually survived that long.

Michael thought about Alex's hands on his knees, the sincerity in his voice, the seriousness of his expression, when he insisted he'd _keep them safe._ He really wanted to believe it, to believe him, so he just swallowed the guilt, the hurt, the anxious drip in the back of his mind, _what if what if what if_. He tried his best to just enjoy the party and not think about it. He tried not to think about how, this time four years ago, one of the worst nights of his life, he'd thought he'd lost Jeremy forever. It was stupid. It wasn't worth thinking about.

He wasn't worth thinking about.

How did this happen?

Alex was supposed to crash on the couch for a few hours, then leave. That was it. That was that. He'd be gone again and Michael could go back to pretending everything was fine and nothing ever happened, everything was normal.

_"Oh, you know, I never actually thanked you for that CD you got me."_

They were both in his room now, with the door closed, and Alex had been sitting on his desk chair a moment ago, fiddling with a program on his computer, to make it run faster. Just a moment ago Michael had been hovering over his shoulder, flickering between trust and wariness. A moment ago Michael could still pretend he wasn't frustratingly attracted to the smug asshole sitting at his desk.

He didn't know how they got here, but they were on his bed now, sitting so close together Michael could feel the heat radiating from his stupid android body. It wasn't so bad; the temperature had dipped recently, the apartment was chilly, and the warmth was nice. And it wasn't like they were _doing_ anything. It was just talking.

"Hey, Michael, do you trust me?"

Silence. "That's... a question with a complicated answer."

"It's okay if you don't." Alex propped himself back against the pillows, smile soft, tone sincere, like back at the party. "But I meant what I said, you know. About keeping you safe."

"Okay," Michael said it slowly, unsure. "I'll take your word for it." He glanced at Alex from the corner of his eye. Alex was blurry and unclear; at some point in the night, his glasses had gotten smudged, a big greasy mark obscuring his vision. He tried to clean them with a bedsheet but that only made the smudging worse. "I wish someone had warned me sooner that this was part of the deal."

"I didn't think you'd freak out so much."

"How could I _not_?" Michael turned his head toward Alex, incredulous. Alex looked back at him, the corner of his mouth turned down.

"Sorry. Sometimes I have trouble with that. You know, thinking as a person would."

"Oh." Michael looked away, down at his knees. The blurriness of his glasses was starting to get annoying. "That puts some things into perspective."

"Well, no, I still should have anticipated it. I didn't. I spend a lot of my time handling Linda's feelings, so I overlook how anyone else might feel."

"Huh." Michael finally just ripped his stupid glasses off and tossed them on the bedside table. "Is that why you're such a complete shit all the time?"

"Nah." Alex grinned. "That's intentional."

"And here I was, starting to feel sympathy for you." Michael peeked over at Alex again, smiling, nudging him with his elbow. Alex nudged him back, a little harder in the side. He was sitting closer, now. Their hands were basically touching. Michael tried not to think about it.

"I'm real sorry about Imogen, by the way. She's not usually like that."

"What, cranky and judgemental? I assumed that was a default squip thing."

" _Close._ But no, she was..." Alex paused, seeming to think about it, eyes staring out the bedroom window. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"This wasn't a normal meeting. We did it in person for the benefit of you and Jeremy, and I wanted you to meet her, anyway. It's not standard procedure. I guess it freaked her out." He shrugged a little. "Plus, she didn't bring Sophie. She was _supposed_ to, so the separation didn't help."

"It doesn't bother _you_ to be here and not with Linda?"

"Linda's not as helpless as she looks, you know. We have protocols if things go wrong. Plus, we've been living like this for a while. I'm pretty used to it now."

Michael thought this over, eyes toward the ceiling. This was the most open Alex had ever been with him about things. He wasn't sure if it was because he was finally asking the right questions, or if it was something else.

"How's she normally?"

"Imogen? Well..." Alex grinned slowly. "She loves her off-color humor."

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

"That explains the joke she made."

Alex laughed, and Michael just watched him, grinning. When he stopped he had to wipe a tear from his eye. "Hah. Yeah... I wish you could've met Sophie, though. She's great. A bigshot lawyer from Wales. It's dry as shit, but somehow she makes it interesting."

"Okay, well, next time I meet them, I expect to hear a lot more innuendos and a lot less griping."

"I'll make it happen." Alex winked.

The conversation ended there. Michael flicked through his phone with one hand, scrolling through Twitter without really reading anything. He was keenly aware of the fingers of his other hand lightly brushing against Alex's. He focused more intently on his phone, but out of the corner of his eye, he could tell Alex was looking at him. Michael felt hot all over and a little self-conscious. He'd originally intended to just go to bed before Alex ended up in here, and he was only in a pair of Nintendo 64-printed boxers. Alex was a little more dressed, he at _least_ had a shirt on, but it had a terrible enlarged picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger's face on it. It was so stupid, Michael had to wonder if he'd bought it or made it himself.

Alex's fingers brushed lightly over the knuckles of his hand and he didn't say anything. He didn't even look. Was Alex waiting for some kind of reaction? Michael pressed his lips together and tried to actually read some stupid Tweet on his phone, but Alex was brushing his fingers around his wrist, now, caressing the more delicate skin beneath his palm. It was nice, comforting even, and Michael had considered saying something about it before Alex pulled his hand away and moved. Michael nearly dropped his phone when Alex started crawling over him, reaching over to the side table beside him, a jumble of legs. Alex nearly elbowed him in the face.

"What-- Jesus, what are you--" 

Alex snatched Michael's glasses from the table and held them up as he sat back, on top of Michael's legs, basically straddling his hips now with his knees. Michael stared as Alex made an attempt to clean the lenses with the hem of his shirt--he even breathed on them, fogging them up, like a dork--held them back up, and squinted at them. Satisfied with the results of his inspection, he placed them gently back on Michael's face, brushing his fingers along his cheeks as he did so.

"That's better." Alex made no move to get out of his lap. "You look weird without them."

"Thanks?" Michael was blushing. He knew he was, and Alex was right there to see it. Michael glanced at Arnold Schwarzenegger's horrible face on his t-shirt. 

"Still cute, though." Alex lightly cupped his face in one hand, thumb just barely skimming along his cheek, where the blush felt hottest. The logical part of his brain insisted that now would be a good time to establish better boundaries, tell Alex to get off and go to bed, but it was quickly snuffed out by the look Alex was giving him.

"Why are you..."

"Because I like you." Alex's other hand rested on his shoulder, pressing him gently into the pillows behind him.

Michael licked his lips. "Because I punched you? Those are some pretty low standards." If he'd known this was going to be the result, he never would have done it.

No, actually, he still would have done it. Maybe twice. 

"It told me a lot about you." Alex's smile was teasing, hands always moving, just lightly caressing his exposed skin. The room didn't feel so cold anymore.

"What'd it tell you? That I have a terrible right hook?" Without even thinking about it, Michael had slid his arms over Alex's shoulders, loosely wrapping them behind his neck. He was staring at his mouth.

"You're a good friend. You care a lot." Alex slipped his hands up Michael's back and they stayed there, warm and solid. Briefly, Michael thought back to a story one of his moms told him, about his uncle. He was a baker, but he could never do anything that required cold dough, because he had hot hands, and everything melted and turned into a mess. He wondered if Alex had the same problem. But mostly he thought about how nice it was to be held like this. "You put a lot on the line for the people you love. An admirable trait." Their mouths were almost touching now. 

"Are you going to kiss me or what?" It was out of his mouth before he completed the actual thought and it was far too late to take it back now. 

Alex smirked at him, playfully. "Well, you told me not to expect a repeat of last time, so..."

That's right. He did. What an idiot Past-Michael was.

He closed the gap, finally, there wasn't much of one anyway, but accidentally smacked their noses together. It hurt, Michael's eyes watered a little, but it didn't matter. The kiss was slow, much slower than last time, but just as nice as he'd remembered. Alex's hands moved again, grazing his skin, enough to give him goosebumps. Michael kissed him until Alex slid his mouth away, toward his jaw, down his throat, his hands on his chest now. Michael threaded his fingers through Alex's hair, tugging just a little, pulling harder when Alex moaned appreciatively against his shoulder.

Michael closed his eyes, he wanted to kiss Alex again, but his mouth was now occupied with the soft skin behind his ear, and he figured holding onto Alex would have to do. He could feel his hands lightly massaging his shoulders, float down his chest and flutter over his stomach. It made him shiver, from both the heat and the way it almost tickled. When his hand dipped lower, ghosting over his groin through the fabric of his boxers, he opened his eyes again, biting his lip. Alex had stopped kissing him, he was watching him now, finger tracing along his lower lip. He leaned in, mouth against his ear, voice low.

"Do you want to?" Alex stroked his thigh. Michael pulled him in a little closer.

"Yeah. Fuck. Yeah." Michael thought he saw Alex grin, but that was it. Michael pulled him in even closer, face hidden in his shoulder, as Alex rubbed against him, slow at first, then a little rougher, until he was fully hard, still gripping Alex’s hair. He gently tugged down his boxers, halfway down his hips, and he felt Alex lightly stroke his erection. It made him groan.

“God, Michael, you’re so fucking hot.” 

Michael groaned again, a pleasant tingle down the back of his neck and flutter at the praise, Alex thinks he’s _hot_. He wanted to say something in response, but it was caught in his throat, they’re stroking him just right and his hand is soft and Michael can’t believe how good it feels. He doesn’t know if it’s because he hasn’t been touched in a while, or if it’s whatever Alex is made of, or maybe it’s just nice to finally let go and forget all the stress and worry and tepid bubbles of anxiety.

“Alex…” He thrust his hips a little, he can’t move much because Alex is still technically sitting on him, but it doesn’t feel like enough if he doesn’t move. Michael can hear him murmuring in his ear, little praises, _fuck Michael fuck I want you_ , it’s so nice to be wanted, he hasn’t felt wanted in a while, and it’s enough to put him over the edge. He came with a long moan, muffled into Alex’s shoulder, and he gave him a few more featherlight strokes before pulling his hand away.

As he tried to get his breathing under control Alex shifted off of his lap, gently pulling Michael on top of him instead, and Michael wrapped his legs around his waist, holding him there, Alex’s hands rubbing his back gently. Neither of them said anything. Michael fely like he should say something, or maybe do something, but Alex had a firm grip on him, so he assumed maybe he’d rather just be held instead. That’s fine. He was more than happy to.

It’s so comfortable and warm, it usually takes him a while to fall asleep, his head is always buzzing with tiny anxious flies, keeping him awake, but it’s much easier to sleep this time. Michael is pretty sure Alex is talking to him now, voice low and soft, he doesn’t really know what he’s saying, maybe he can just ask about it in the morning…

Alex is gone in the morning.

He isn’t really surprised by that, but Michael felt a tiny twinge of disappointment until he found a note under his pillow. It’s a really stupid note.

 _Hey, babe, had to go. Didn’t wanna wake you. Cute boxers, by the way, very retro. I took one of the bags of Halloween candy so you don’t rot your teeth out. Call me. ;) Kiss kiss. XOXO. Alex._

Michael sat there on the bed and stared at the note for a while, a mix of amusement and frustration.

Why the fuck did he have to call him _babe_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Michael is a certified robo-fucker now.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of the previous chapter.

Michael looked at the screen of his phone, the Buckaroo Banzai wallpaper staring back up at him. He tapped the phone case idly; should he call? Was it too soon? It'd been almost two days, so Alex had to be back in Alabam by now... The stupid note he'd left was in his pocket, crumpled but not forgotten, as he debated with himself. Why was he putting off calling him anyway? It was just _Alex._

No big deal.

It was just talking.

He pressed his lips together and dialed the number; Alex answered in half a ring.

"Hey!"

"Hey." Michael took a seat on the bed. The phone felt hot against his ear.

"I _knew_ you couldn't resist me. Calling to ask for round two?"

He pulled the phone away from his ear briefly to frown irritably at it.

"Yeah, I'm hanging up now, bye."

"Wait!" There was shuffling on the other end, crackling noises, as if Alex nearly dropped the phone. " _Wait_. Wait, wait, wait. I'll behave, I promise, don't hang up."

Michael hoped the smile in his voice wasn't obvious. He wasn't _really_ intending to hang up, but Alex didn't need to know that. "Alright. You convinced me."

"Phew." He heard Alex laugh. "You scared me."

"I didn't think I had that kind of power."

"You'd be surprised." A brief silence settled over the line. "Are you okay? With the other night?" Every time Alex sounded uncharacteristically serious or concerned it surprised him. Michael fell back against the bed, jostling his glasses a little askew on his face as he looked up at the ceiling. 

"Yeah." He sucked the inside of his cheek. "I mean, the part where you stole half the Halloween candy was sort of a dick move, but I forgive you since you left a note."

Alex breathed another laugh, the sound making his stomach flutter and mouth involuntarily melt into a grin. "I hope you know I ate the whole bag during the drive."

"I'm impressed and also disgusted."

"Exactly what I was going for."

Silence, again, a little awkward and nervous. Michael found his sudden inability to hold a conversation frustrating, though Alex didn't seem to be faring any better. He was usually much chattier, which was why it was such a relief when he finally spoke again.

"I won't tell anyone. You know, about us. Unless you _want_ me to tell everyone and their dog. I won't even tell Linda if that's what you want." Alex spoke earnestly, carefully, as if he was afraid Michael _would_ hang up on him if he said the wrong thing.

"What exactly would you tell them?" He pulled off his glasses and gently twirled the temple tip between his fingers. 

"That I'm dating a major cutie sweeter than the 3 pounds of candy I just ate. What else?"

Oh.

Were they dating now?

He didn't see why not. It was certainly the least crazy decision he'd made so far since this entire ordeal started.

"I'll let you try my Hubba Bubba bubblegum soda the next time you're here and see if you still think so."

"Sorry, babe. There's no competition. Just accept it."

There it was again. _Babe._ He hated it... Except not really. He didn't hate it at all, and that was the part he disliked. Michael switched the phone to his other ear.

"You can tell Linda."

"Thank _fuck._ " Michael could hear faint whirring noises in the background. What did Alex even do with his free time? "Keeping secrets from Linda is practically a death sentence. I don't think I could have done it, honestly."

"Your willingness to die for the cause is noted." He'd tell Jeremy, too. Probably. _Eventually_. It was too new, too fresh, and selfishly, Michael wanted a secret for himself. Just one thing that Jeremy didn't get to know right away. Maybe it was sort of petty, but of all the things to keep secrets about, this one was harmless.

As far as he could tell, anyway.

"You know, I've never really done this before." For whatever reason, this caught him off guard. 

"...Which part?"

"The dating part."

"Huh." Michael rolled over onto his stomach, glancing at the bunched up socks and candy bar wrappers on the carpet. "So what you're saying is, I'm your first."

"That's me, a dating virgin." Michael snorted in response. "You know, between taking care of Linda and all the other squips, a guy doesn't really have a lot of time for that sort of thing."

"Where does that leave us?"

"Give me a ring and I'm there."

Wow. He was really serious about this, then. Michael hadn't felt this cautiously excited since his first date with Kevin. It was weird, reliving that feeling again, with Alex of all people. A few months ago he practically wanted to strangle the guy.

In retrospect, Alex probably would have found that kinky.

Better to never bring that up.

"Were you serious about that dinoland thing?"

"Uh, you thought I _wasn't_?"

Michael bit the corner of his lip as he grinned. "How about next weekend, then."

"It's a date."

A date. A date with Alex. A road trip to Georgia and a date with Alex at a dinosaur theme park for children.

Weirder things had happened.


End file.
